Earbuds
by LiveEatBreatheWrite
Summary: The apocalypse had ended, and Carl is being shipped off to Camp Bear Hood in sweltering Texas. There, he meets new people, makes friends, and possibly enemies. I DECIDED TO ADD A CERTAIN WEB PERSONA IN THIS STORY, BUT IT WAS HERE FIRST SO I'M NOT GONNA LABEL IT "CROSSOVER" JUST YET. PLEASE DON'T SUE ME. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello fellow people of the interwebz. This is a One-Shot... unless you want me to expand on it. This is a Post ZA AU, and Carl meets a girl on a plane. I sorta kinda got this idea from an episode of ****_Supernatural. _****Loosely. Anywhoooo, gracias for reading! Review and let me know what you thaaaank :)**

**~A.C~**

I was shuffling down the aisle, keeping an eye out for my seat. When I found it, I saw that I wasn't going to be sat next to some creepy old guy. That's normally what happened when I flew anywhere. And I had only flown three other times in my life, not including this one. I sat in the aisle seat, a space in between me and the brunette girl with her headphones in. She was staring out the small airplane window, bopping her head to the invisible beat of an unknown song. I focused on my destroyed fingernails, bitten down to the cuticle. I tried to bite it smaller still, small stings erupting from my damaged finger. Then, the plane started whirring. My hand left my mouth and gripped the armrest tightly. God, I've always hated flying. The planes always made these terrifying noises and the changes in altitude always made my stomach churn. The aircraft lurched forward, me making a small noise of terror.

Jesus Christ, Carl! You've survived the fucking apocalypse! You have laughed in the face of danger, sneered at the threat of death. You've taken your own mother's life, and you can't even fly on an airplane. Pull yourself together!

Suddenly, I felt a soft hand on my shoulder. The girl must've noticed my discomfort, because she looked at me with blue, compassionate eyes.

"Are you alright?"

"Fantastic," I replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, alright. Nervous flyer?"

"Kind of."

"Ah. You know what makes me feel better when I'm nervous?"

Her blue eyes looked at me expectantly, obviously waiting for an answer.

"Hmm?"

"Music. Want to listen?"

She held an earbud in her hand, offering it to me. I took it gingerly and put it in my ear. She handed me her small i-Pod and gave me the freedom to choose the song. I found some actual music there; nothing like the crappy pop most girls listened to. I chose one of my favorites from Panic! At The Disco, I Write Sins, Not Tragedies. We sat in silence, listening to the energetic song.

Once the last note rang out, she took her blue i-Pod from me and scrolled through the playlist. She found a song, but fast-forwarded it so that less than half of the song was left. The male singer took a deep breath and let out the first note. I recognized the song instantly. Parting Glass. The words flowed clearly into my ears, reminding me of Beth. Suddenly, I wasn't on the plane anymore. I was at the bonfire again, listening to Beth and Maggie sing. The English singer's voice was replaced by Beth's.

Then, the bonfire left and was replaced by the prisonyard. Beth held a pistol, her finger placed carefully on the trigger. It was pointed at the forest, where a man was lurking. He obviously intended to take the prison. Everything was in slow motion. Beth's finger started to tighten around the deadly trigger, but a bang interrupted her. An expertly aimed bullet struck Beth right between the eyes. Her eyes rolled back as she fell. The gun clattered to the ground, her limp body following right behind it.

Then, I was right above her. Her blonde hair was in a fan around her pale, bloodied face. Her clothing was stained with red, and so was the concrete around her. A crimson bullet rested a couple feet from her head. Her death sentence. I remember what was left of my heart being torn out of my chest that day. I remember that the cure was found a week after her death. A week. She made it so far…

I felt a delicate touch on my shoulder and I was brought back to the plane. The song was long over, and the brunette looked at me with those pretty blue eyes.

"Who's Beth?" she asked carefully.

"An old friend."

"Is she alright?"

"…No."

"Dead?"

"…Yes."

"Man or walker?"

This question shocked me a little. It's hard to remember that someone other than me and the group had to experience this.

"Man."

"My family went down that way."

I looked up at her and found that she had tears in her eyes.

"It was before the Apocalypse even."

"Were you alone when it started?" I asked.

Tears were steadily streaming down her face, staining her once happy expression.

"No. My brother was with me. He took care of me after it happened. In a way, I'm glad they didn't have to experience it."

I wanted to comfort her, but there was one problem. Well, two. One, I don't know how. Two, I don't know her name. Well, Carl, one problem at a time.

"What's your name?"

"Rosalie. Needless to say, Twilight ruined my life."

I laughed at her joke. I remembered the first movie coming out. The dumb sparkly vampire's sister or something was named Rosalie, I remember.

"You think you've got it bad? My parent's named me Carl."

She giggled, and her sad tears stopped coming.

"I guess we can get made fun of together."

"So, Rosalie, what brings you to Texas?"

"This self-defense camp that my brother wants me to go to."

"Camp Bear Hood?"

"That's the one."

"Well, I guess we'll be seeing each other then," I said happily.

"Really? Your parents ship you off here?"

"Yeah, my dad. You probably know him. Rick Grimes?"

"Rick Grimes… as in Rick Grimes: Expert in Combat and Weaponry?"

"That's the one."

"You're _his _son?"

"Uh huh."

"That is so awesome! Your father is idolized by the entirety of humanity!"

"I know."

"He's one of the founders of the A.C.T! If your father is Rick Grimes… then… YOU KNOW DARYL DIXON!"

"I do. He's a cool guy."

"A _cool guy? _He's more than just a cool guy. He's the best strategist in the entire Program!"

"Yep."

"Holy cow. I'm sitting next to a celebrity."

"I'm hardly a _celebrity." _

"Whatever. So, your father sent you to Camp Bear Hood to learn self-defense techniques. Why doesn't he teach you himself?"

"Doesn't have time."

"Right."

"I actually know the counselors. They trained with Dad for a while."

"Cool. So, you're close with all of the founding members of the Apocalyptic Control Tactic. Rick Grimes, Daryl Dixon, Glenn Rhee, Maggie Rhee, and Michonne Gurria?"

"Yep."

"…Beth is Maggie's sister, isn't she?"

"Yeah. That's what inspired Maggie to help the team find a cure."

"Wow. That's… just wow."

"It is pretty awesome. They have taught me a lot."

The intercom crackled, meaning that the pilot was about to say something.

_Hello. This is your Captain speaking. We will be making our descent into Love Field shortly. You will notice that the seatbelt lights above you have been turned back on, so please, stay seated and buckled. Thanks for flying with us, and we hope to see you soon._

Oh, good. My favorite part. Rosalie's hand wrapped around my trembling ones, and she squeezed them. She smiled at me, reassuring me that everything would be ok.

"Rose… can I call you Rose? I refuse to call you Rosalie because Twilight is horrendous."

"Rose is fine. What were you going to say?"

"Rose, thanks," I said uncomfortably.

"…for what?"

"You comforted a complete stranger. People don't really do that."

"Well, you looked friendly enough. And you looked terrified."

"I suppose so. But, thanks anyway."

"No biggie."

The plane began its descent then, and Rose put her music back on. It was New Perspective by Panic! At The Disco. I could tell they were one of her favorites. The upbeat song made me feel a little better, but it didn't successfully distract me from the fact the plane was making strange noises and dropping faster and faster.

Sooner or later, we landed on the ground. The road was very bumpy, and I could feel the Texas heat through the plane. This camp is gonna be real fun. The plane slowed to a halt and people started to exit. Rose and I were one of the last to leave. We walked through the gate and we were met by a sea of people. I could feel Rose tense up next to me. I looked over to find her pale and trembling.

"Are you alright? You look terrified," I asked.

"Don't like crowds."

I simply grabbed her hand walked next to her, saying reassuring words to her softly and calming her shaking hands.

And for the first time in a long time, I felt whole.

**Thanks for making it through the whole thing! Let me know if it was a) astoundingly awful b) mediocre or c) fan-freaking-tastic!**

**~A.C~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright. So, there have been a few reviews of this... all were good... and expanding. BUT! There will be another copy of this story in a different section of this website, because this is becoming a CROSSOVER as of this chapter. A certain web persona will appear in this chapter, and ONE MILLION AWESOME POINTS to the person who guesses who this person is. I know that Youtube and The Walking Dead are two strange things to relate to each other, but you know. I'm a strange writer. **

**IMPORTANT:**

**I'm going to give you some hints. I'm really excited about this!**

*** he's British.**

*** he's 22 in real life, but in the story, for plot's sake, he will be 17.**

**that's all you get for now. **

**Anywho... the next chapter will be up soon; maybe today or maybe tomorrow. Nevertheless, it will be soon.**

**~A.C~**

**Rose**

I walked through the wall of people, Carl's hand in mine. I found it odd that this was so comfortable, seeing as I only met him a couple hours ago. And even though he sounds like a ninety year old, he was very nice and _not _a pedophile. He was an inch or two taller than me, which didn't surprise me. He had shaggy, dark hair which nearly covered his bright blue eyes. Freckles spread across his small nose, and his thin lips were pressed together. He seemed lost in thought, debating something. We reached the luggage terminal and waited for our bags. Mine showed up first and I momentarily released Carl's tight grasp and retrieved it. His showed up soon after and we exited as soon as we possibly could. We were hit by a wave of heat as soon as we stepped out. The only difference was less people and better air. We waited for the shuttle that was arranged to pick all of the campers up. A few other kids showed up.

Then, a boy our age strolled casually out of the airport. He wasn't as jittery as the other kids. He looked around, his eyes resting on me longer than everyone else. He studied me closely, finding that I was still holding hands with Carl. The boy that just walked out narrowed his eyes at the sight making me feel uncomfortable. The boy strolled over to me anyway, grinning slightly with amber eyes. He shifted his things so that he should offer his hand out to me.

"Hello, I'm Dan."

He had a strange English accent.

"Hi Dan. I'm Rose. Are you here for Bear Hood?"

"Yeah, I am. My mum made me come to Texas. It's so fucking hot!"

"You from England?"

"Yeah. London. The weather there was so different."

"How hard did it hit there?"

"It was pretty bad," he said, adjusting his black hair.

An awkward silence ensued. I could practically feel the tension between Carl and Dan. I could tell that Dan was nice. His accent was different that most English ones that I had heard. It was more articulate. He was a cute kid. He had a "scene" haircut that framed his face nicely. His amber eyes sparkled brilliantly. He had a cute smirk plastered on his face. He was also really tall. The bus pulled up then, and we all climbed on. I ended up sandwiched between Carl and Dan. Carl had released my hand and was looking out the window. I turned to Dan and he smiled at me.

"So, Rose. I swear I'm not trying to sound like some kind of pedophile, but how old are you?" he asked awkwardly.

"I'm sixteen."

"Cool. I'm seventeen."

"Cool. So… is he your brother.. or.." he asked, pointing towards Carl.

"He's my friend."

"Oh," he said, his cheeks turning crimson.

"Yeah. So, why did you come all the way to Bear Hood? Aren't there any other camps closer to where you were?"

"Yeah, there are, but my mum wanted me to go here. It's supposed to be the best."

"Yeah. The counselors are trained by Rick Grimes himself, after all."

Carl scoffed behind me as Dan nodded.

"What's his deal?" Dan asked accusingly.

"He… uh… his dad is Rick Grimes," I explained quietly.

Dan leaned over to look at Carl. He was gloomily looking out the window, sunshine filled city zooming past as we drove on.

"Carl Grimes?"

"How do you know my name?"

"In the interviews, he says his son's name is Carl."

"Yup. That's me," Carl sighed.

I could feel Dan tense up next to me. He sunk back into his seat and started fiddling with his hands.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly.

"Haven't you seen any of the interviews with the A.C.T?"

"Only some. Why?"

Dan peeked over at Carl, and he was still looking out the window. He looked at me, and motioned for me to come closer.

"He's had a tough time. I'll talk about it more later."

I looked at him strangely, and then agreed reluctantly. I was worried that I had trusted to wrong person. I found that talking to Dan became easier with time. He was really funny, but he was also pretty awkward. Like myself. We reached the camp in time. It was in the country, making the last twenty minutes or so a bumpy ride. We arrived at the camp and stepped off of the bus along with the other campers. There were already some kids there, sitting at wooden benches socializing. We were directed to our cabins. All of us were in the blue section.

The blue section consisted of four cabins. The right side was for boy's cabins, the left for girls. I was in cabin FA. Carl and Dan were in MA, which was directly across from mine. This comforted me. I entered the small cabin and found it empty. There were two sets of bunk beds directly across from each other. I climbed onto the bottom bunk on the right side, sliding my suitcase underneath the bed. I laid down with my hands over my eyes. All this friend making was exhausting. After a few minutes of alone time, I heard a knock at the door. I got up reluctantly and answered the door. A dirty blonde haired girl with huge green eyes stood on the porch.

"Hi, I'm Melody Cornerstone. Are you Rosalie Patterson?"

"That's me! But, please, call me Rose," I greeted, reaching my hand out to shake hers.

I stepped aside to let her in. I sat on my bed while she looked around carefully. She pointed at the bed on top of mine and asked me if it was spoken for. I shook my head and she abandoned her suitcase as she climbed onto her bunk.

"Ah... I need to lie down."

"I hear ya. I hate airports."

"Ugh, yes. I hate crowds."

"Me too!"

Another knock sounded at the door and I got up again to answer it. A girl with short, bright red hair and honey brown eyes smiled at me from outside.

"Cabin FA, right?"

"Yeah. I'm Rose Patterson."

"Athena Jordan."

"Oh. My. God. Your name is Athena?" I heard Melody ask as she climbed down the stairs quickly. She bounced over to the door and popped her head to see our new roommate.

"Yeah. It's kinda cool I guess. It's a mouthful though, so just call me Attie."

"Ok. Hi Attie. I'm Melody. Call me Mel."

"Alright. Can I come in now?" she asked.

I stepped aside awkwardly and she stepped in, taking in the cabin. She claimed the bottom bunk on the left side.

"So, guys. Where did you come from?" I asked.

"Brooklyn," Mel replied.

"San Diego," Attie mumbled.

"Cool. I'm from King's County. That's in Georgia."

"Well, we know that!"

"I guess you do. That's were Rick Grimes lived."

Then, I remembered who was in the Cabin across from me.

"Guys! You have to meet the guys in the Cabin across from us!" I exclaimed.

"Why?" Attie asked.

"Just come on!"

Mel climbed down from her bunk and Attie reluctantly left her cozy bed. We crossed the dirt path and knocked on the Cabin door. Dan answered the door and smiled at me.

"Hey Rose. These your bunk mates?" he said in his adorable accent.

"Yeah. Meet Mel and Attie," I said, pointing to each of the girls accordingly.

Dan nodded at each of the girls, then let us in. Carl was lying on the top bunk on the left side, a sheriff's hat hanging on one of the posts.

"Carl?"

He looked down and smiled at me, climbing down quickly to greet me.

"Hey Rose. Who're those two?"

"These are my bunkmates. Mel, Attie, meet Carl Grimes."

I could hear the girls gasp quietly behind me. Mel was the first to step forward and introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Mel."

Carl took her hand and shook it. Attie remained quiet. Awkward silence settled over the room until the a knock was heard. Dan moved to get the door.

"Hi, is this MA?"

"Yeah, I guess were roomies. Hi, I'm Dan Howell."

"Carter Harris."

I heard Dan step aside and shut the door behind the mystery boy. All of us turned to get a good look. He had dark, short hair and dark blue eyes. He was a medium sized guy, and was smiling brightly.

"Carter, this is Carl, the other boy that lives here. These are our neighbors across the way: Rose, Mel and Attie," Dan introduced, pointing to each of us.

Carter waved shyly at each of us before looking around the cabin.

"Well, we should probably get back. Another girl might've gotten to the cabin," Attie said.

Mel and I agreed and excused ourselves. We got back to our cabin to find I exactly as we left it.

"We should start unpacking," I said to the girls.

They all nodded in agreement and reached for their suitcases. Mel's was a beat up, navy blue suitcase. It was pretty big, in perfect contrast with her tiny frame. Attie's was a red suitcase that was packed to the brim with clothing. Mine was a plain black one with a blue ribbon tied around the handle.

I grabbed my toiletries and entered the bathroom. I put my mini shampoo and conditioner one of the four showers. There were also four small sinks and a toilet placed behind a wall. I put my toothpaste at the sink farthest to the left and returned to the room, just in time for a knock at the door. I went to open it and found a girl with straight, long, black hair with bangs and green eyes. Her skin was pretty pale, and she had faint freckles all across her face. She extended a hand out and smiled.

"Hello. My name is Katherine Levine, but most call me Kat. Are you Rosalie?" she said in a strong Irish accent.

"Yeah, but please, call me Rose."

"Alright, Rose. May I come in?"

"Of course," I stepped aside and let Kat in.

She stepped in confidently and stood in the middle of the room.

"Guys, this is Kat. Kat, this is Mel and Attie," I said, pointing at each girl.

They waved and continued to unpack.

"You're the last one, so you get the top bunk over here."

She nodded and opened up her suitcase. I returned to mine, grabbing out anything else I needed.

After a while, I was unpacked. I excused myself from the cabin and went to go explore. The sun was setting, making the sky look like it was on fire. It was beautiful. I found a post with directory signs on it and looked at it for a moment. There were four directions, and half of them were trails. The trails I could choose from were either Pine Path or Greenwood Trail. I was playing Eenie Meenie Miney Moe in my head when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I whirled around and swung at my mystery attacker. I heard a male cry in pain and saw Dan hunched over, holding his face.

"Oh, god. I'm so sorry! It was instinct! I-"

"It's ok, Rose. I get it. Probably wasn't too bright of me to sneak up on you like that."

"I suppose not…"

He stood up straight again and smiled at me. A mark was starting to form on his cheekbone.

"I'm so sorry."

"Seriously, it's fine. What trail do you want to go on?"

"I dunno. I was trying to figure it out when you showed up."

"Ah. Well…" he said as he looked up at the directory.

He placed a hand on his chin and 'hmm'ed.

"How about we go on Greenwood Trail?"

"Sounds fun. Let's go," I replied.

**ALRIGHT. LET'S REVIEW.**

**The web persona was one of the characters introduced in this chapter. (hinthint: the person is TALL AND BRITISH) You will be able to find this in the WALKING DEAD/ WEB SHOWS crossover list (if it even exists). It will remain on this section, but it will also be available in the crossover section.  
**

**Anywhoooo, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you next week (hopefully...)**

**~A.C~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright guys. I'm so so so so so so so so soooooooooooooooo sorry times infinity. School is sucky and leave me no time for fun things. I feel like a jerk now! I'll try to be as frequent with the updates as possible; it just that I'm taking 4 advanced placement classes, I'm taking theatre, which requires after school meeting, and I'm also in choir, which requires after school meetings as well. IMPORTANT! I just read a review that pointed out how Twilighty the name Rosalie Patterson sounds. I have no idea why I didn't realize this sooner, so I will be taking name suggestions from you! I don't want a Twilighty name in my story... unless you guys are ok with it.**

**Anyway, enough rambling, here's the new chapter!**

**Carl**

I was lying down on my bunk, staring at the wooden ceiling. Carter was unpacking. Dan was out for a walk. Then, there was a knock at the door.

"I got it," Carter shouted.

I heard him open the door and talk with a strange voice. Someone entered, and I heard a suitcase.

"Carl, this is Jett," Carter introduced. I peered over the edge of my bunk and saw a younger kid with unruly brown hair. He looked up at me with shimmering brown eyes and smiled.

"Hi, Carl. I'm Jett Hanks-King, at your service," he said with a funny little bow.

Funny guy, apparently. I waved at him and he sat in the remaining bunk underneath me. I heard him unzip his suitcase and start chatting with Carter animatedly about comic books. I tuned them out and started thinking about my journey here.

It was so odd that some stranger would help me with something stupid and petty like flight anxiety. Most would just ignore me. I could tell that she would be a good friend. A person I could trust.

But Dan…

I don't trust him. The way he looks at her! I swear I could catch him looking at her ass when we were getting off of the shuttle. Or maybe I was imagining things.

Then, the door opened and Dan entered, waving at someone outside. He shut the door behind him, chuckling to himself.

"What're you so happy about?" Carter asked him, playfully.

"I was walking with Rose."

Of course he was.

Dan looked over to Jett and pointed at him with a confused look on his face.

"He wasn't here before, was he?"

"Oh, yeah. This is…" Carter started, but was interrupted by Jett.

"Jett Hanks-King," he said, holding out a hand.

Dan took it and smiled.

"Dan Howell."

After their exchange, Dan moved to his bunk and started to unpack his suitcase grudgingly. I turned over again and stared at the ceiling for the remainder of the night.

**Sorry it's so short; writing the next section right now! Thanks for reading! Click the little check marked "follow" or "favorite" if you want to know when I update (if I ever do).**

**Post any non- Twilighty name suggestions in the reviews, and I will pick the awesomest one! **

**~A.C~**


	4. AND THE WEB PERSONA IS: AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Before you read:**

**This update is an author's note. Read if you want to know who the web persona is, because the author of this story makes promises she forgets to fulfill. **

**So, I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I have no excuse other than school. I promise that you will get an update soon, most probably on Monday. **

**Next thing:**

**The web persona that will be included in this story goes by the name of...**

_**DANISNOTONFIRE**_

**This guy is so amazing; one of my other deep set addictions. He's incredibly sarcastic and dorky, and I love his videos so much! If you don't know who I'm talking about, then I implore you to look him up. He should be posting a new video soon, so I'll be visiting his channel soon enough as well :)**

**Let me know in the reviews if you got it right! Your awesome points will be delivered via PM.**

**Hasta luego, mis amigos!**

**~A.C~ **


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